Gaining Weight vs. Losing Weight!

There are two types of food. One is "tension food", which is very tempting and appealing to the conscious mind. You go into a restaurant and smell some- thing rich and wonderful coming from the kitchen, or you see someone at the next table with a great-looking dinner, or someone brings goodies to work. You see this food, you become interested in it, and you eat it.

Or maybe you are doing something else, not thinking of food at all, and suddenly junk food pops into your mind. This is all mind game food. You are not thinking about it, but there it is and suddenly you want it. It is not your intention or your desire, but somehow your hunger is stimulated.

The other kind of food is "relaxation food" - food that makes you relax. This is food which your body desires because it's nourishing, and nurtures health, happiness, wellness and normal weight. Your body naturally knows what it wants and will ask for what it needs. Studies have shown that if small children are left alone with food, they will automatically eat what is best for their bodies. For example, if a child has a cold, and an orange is available, the child will choose the orange. Even if many other foods are available, the child will still make the healthy choice.

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"Most people never listen to their inner desire for food."

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Now, you can eat tension food but it will not be satisfying, at least not for very long, because it is not your real desire. No matter how much of it you eat, you just won't feel satisfied, because your body doesn't need it, and doesn't really want it in the first place. You might feel full, but you won't feel satisfied. What's worse is that, it is precisely out of this kind of dissatisfaction that food obsessions arise. If you're looking to lose weight and keep it off, then you'll need to find food that provides true satisfaction.

Relaxation food is deeply satisfying because your desire for it comes from a place inside yourself, your unconscious mind, an intimate, caring place

that you can trust to tell you what you really need. You can eat as much relaxation food as you want because it will satisfy your body. Thus, you'll feel good and relaxed, and you'll eat like a normal person.

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"Studies have shown that if small children are left alone with food,
they will eat what is best for their bodies."

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To discover your favorite relaxation foods, practice this awareness exercise:

Every day, before you eat any food, maybe just before each meal, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and ask yourself what you want, what your true desire is. Don't think about what's available in your pantry or refrigerator, just pay attention to what your body wants. It could be anything. At this point, you haven't seen or smelled any food, you're simply listening to your own feelings, to what your body needs, and to what you feel like inside.

Then go and find the food you are thinking of, and eat it. Eat as much of it as you wish, but stick with that food. Eat slowly, eat deliberately! Focus on your body as you swallow. You'll naturally stop eating when you're full, as your body will know when it's satisfied.

Most people never listen to their inner voice about what to eat. Maybe they've forgotten how to consult their body, or maybe they've never been taught how to listen to their inner voice. Thus, they eat only tension food and feel dissatisfied, and this in turn, can make them food-obsessed and subsequently driven to overeat. That's how the mind game works!

So, if you listen to your body and eat relaxation food, the cravings for "tension food" will soon be gone. Your answers are in your body. Simply by eating "relaxation foods" for a few days, you'll see that "tension food" will lose its appeal!

© 2005 Dr. Brian Alman